Print Quarterly

silence the monuments by Be Nyamezele

we’d scream and rebel as blood flooded our minds
and young girls would hide in shame as reality seethed from their cores.
bitumen memorised grief
and the buildings that protrude these city streets recorded
every secret desecrated through shameful whispers.

when I was young
prayers were all we were taught to unclench our fists for.
“lord forgive us for the sins of our emasculated fathers”.
we regretted the residue of innocence
and now mirrors call us hypocrits for we’ve Become the Beasts that rage against age.
Bring back time…